The much-awaited Union Budget 2022 was announced earlier today. We have received many comments from the industry leaders who shared the key takeaways from the economy, policy, and tax announcements made by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in the budget speech.
Archit Agarwal, Co-founder, Crossbeats said the extension of 1 year for startups is a welcome move as it will, directly and indirectly, help to strengthen the ecosystem. The push to the manufacturing industry is a strategic move to reduce the dependence on imports and upgrade the capabilities of Indian manufacturers to meet the needs internally. It was nice to hear that the growth in the wearable market has been recognized by the government and custom duty calibration should bring more opportunities for domestic brands to provide unique options to the masses. Similarly, an extension of concessional tax regime by 1 year is a welcome move during the pandemic which is not showing any sign of deterrence.
Aashish Kumbhat, Founder and Director, Inbase said “Budget is looking very promising with major focus on *Organically Boosting the Indian economy* and developing the domestic ecosystems. Kickstarting 5G Auction, Battery Swapping for E vehicles, 68% Defences procurements from Domestic market, Boosting Solar Manufacturing, Introducing new faster Cargo trains, Above all Indian Digital Rupee and others for sure are great initiatives to make Indian economy grow stronger organically.”
Arnav Kishore,Co-Founder,Fire-Boltt said “It is a welcome announcement by the Finance Minister to focus on the domestic wearable market and boost domestic manufacturing of such devices. This is in sync with the record growth registered recently by homegrown brands in the Indian wearable market, and would further encourage more Indian brands to come up with innovative offerings in the segment. We also welcome the decision to extend tax benefits for startups and the fact that startups are being considered the drivers of the Indian economy’s growth.
Achin Gupta, Country Head-India at ZOOOK said “The push towards manufacturing is a positive move to make India self-reliant and at the same time, the calibrated duty tax has put a 5% extra burden on importers. This move is in itself an indication of the government’s plan for India@100, where basic consumer electronics would be manufactured in India. The recent surge in the country’s wearables market is an indicator of success in the current scenario and the government too is targeting increased domestic manufacturing of wearable, hearable, and high growth electronic items. Also, this will create more jobs in IT sector which will be working.
Arnav Mutneja- Director at Quantum Hi-Tech said “The budget seems to create a level playing field for existing and upcoming brands in the market with a push towards creating domestic manufacturing capabilities. The move to calibrate tax structure for items like consumer electronics is a very novel move given the pandemic situation, as it will enable manufacturers to provide more and more lifestyle devices with advanced capabilities. The budget has given a balanced outlook of the economy in the years to come and we hope that the stress on the economy by COVID can be mitigated by this approach in a gradual but concrete manner”.
Vikas Jain, Co Founder and Ceo, World of Play “We support the government’s focus on technology, it will help many tech based companies like WORLD OF PLAY to come up with exciting product experience for the Indian consumers. We welcome the focus of government on the wearables and acoustic component ecosystem and domestic manufacturing and believe on a long term, this focus will make India as a formidable design and manufacturing powerhouse.Additionally the boost in ease of doing business and special impetus on creating 60 lakh new jobs will give a desired push to the goal of becoming Atma Nirbhar Bharat. As a brand, we promote and follow Make in India and we believe long-term policies like this will give us the desired support for the local design and also manufacturing in India.”
Mr Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd, Kodak brand licensee said “While I’m very happy about the big announcements on 5G technology, which I’m sure will go a long way to improve Internet connectivity which will, in turn, help the Smart TV industry grow, I was expecting more for the consumer electronics industry. We were expecting GST reduction on televisions from 28% to 18% on 81cm and above or PLI schemes..We also welcome the move to provide 80 lakhs affordable homes this year, which will definitely expand the consumer electronics market, but to give the current market sentiments a fillip and improve consumer confidence, more needs to be done for healthcare, education, manufacturing.”
Vijay Kumar Mikkilineni, Head of Marketing, TCL India said “We welcome the Finance Minister’s increased focus on the consumer electronics industry and formation technology, which will definitely benefit all worldwide companies, including ours. The 2022 Union Budget allocated 1.97 lakh crore ($26 billion) for PLI projects, notably electronic components, which are among the 13 vital sectors that would undoubtedly help our economy expand. Furthermore, reduced customs taxes will encourage electronics manufacture, which will benefit the electronics industry.”
According to Mr. Ameen Khwaja, Founder & CEO, pTron “The Union Budget has ushered in positive measures for the electronics sector which will give a boost to the sector, especially in the context of Make in India. The #AatmanirbharBharatkabudget with a huge boost to “Make in India” shall generate 6 million jobs and further create competent and skilled manpower that shall compete globally in terms of the quality of goods manufactured. The electronics manufacturing industry is expected to see 30 percent growth in the coming fiscal and to be worth nearly ₹7 lakh crore. It is heartening to see that the Government of India has acknowledged the exponential potential of this sector. There has been an increase in prices of electronics, smartphones especially, owing to the ongoing chip shortage and other COVID-19 induced factors. With duty concessions and domestic manufacturing boost, prices of electronics are expected to decrease which will further boost the demand in the coming days
“The GatiShakti Masterplan is a great step by the government to improve the logistics infra of the country which was much needed and we hope it can be accomplished at the earliest. The overall budget does not have a direct impact on the TV Industry. We were expecting a cut in the GST slab for TV sizes above 32”. There should have been some relief in the Income Tax Slab but the same has not been touched which is another disappointment. The Digital University Initiative is another great initiative for education taken by the government. The overall budget seems to be positive to strengthen the Indian Economy” said Mr.Arjun Bajaaj – Director, Videotex International Group.
David Li, CEO, Huawei India said“The 2022 Budget is one that has its eye set firmly on the future, with technology-driven sustainable development at the core of its vision. The budget provides for digital enablement for all sectors from digital education, digital university, telehealth, and digital banking, among others. It also looks at boosting the economy with provisions for the start-up ecosystem, infra, clean energy. The focus on skilling, digital learning and clean mobility will create opportunities for Indian youth and will also go a great way in addressing the skill gap in various industries leading for an inclusive development.”
Mr. Ashok Rajpal, CEO & Founder, Ambrane said “We welcome the budget positively as it is aimed at furthering the Indian manufacturing industry. Additionally, the increase in PLI benefits to the sector is also beneficial to the companies directly, as well as indirectly. The 15 percent income tax for new manufacturing companies poses immense relaxations for the companies following the attrition of Make in India. Lastly, the duty concessions being given to promote electronic manufacturing, wearable and hearable products is calibrated to provide a graded structure, and give growth to the manufacturing industry considering the sales would surge as a result of subsidized end product”.
Mr. Manish Sharma, CEO, Panasonic India said “Union Budget 2022 continues to pave the way for a sustainable economic growth in Amrit Kaal, backed by consistent structured approach. It underscores the Govt commitment towards Digital India and investment in Public Private Partnership through game changing initiatives like Gati Shakti programme, investment in the sunrise sectors and MSMEs, introducing policies for clean energy, among others. Infact, the seven engines defined under Gati Shakti initiative is bound to have a multiplier effect as it will help aid in reduction of logistics costs, enable supply-chain efficiencies, create employment generation all this, while using technology. It was encouraging to see the focus on clean energy. In line with Panasonic’s business strategy, we are looking forward to details on the Battery Swapping Policy and participate in India’s Electric Vehicle (EV) story. Also, the commitment on building a circular economy is the need of the hour as the world looks at sustainable solutions in a phased manner.
In my experience with the current regime, policy conversations are not limited to Budget day but take place through the year. So we are hoping for discussions on how exports can be further incentivized and policy can be enhanced for design led local manufacturing. From an electronics sector standpoint, we expected reforms in the Union Budget FY 2022 – 23 that would accelerate growth channelized by consumer demand. For instance, rationalizing the GST from 28% to 18% on ACs and large screen size (>105cm) TVs will improve affordability and penetration as these are no longer considered luxury items. We will look forward to hearing from the GST Committee on this.
From the individual’s perspective, no changes in tax structure can also be a relief as it defines stability in current times. Though more money in the hands of the tax-payers could have helped drive consumption over short term.
Mandeep Manocha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashify said, “The Budget 2022, is a step in the right direction to connect India to the truly Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Government contributions towards R&D in sunrise opportunities such as AI, semiconductors and its ecosystem as well as the calibration of custom duty rates and concessions towards the domestic manufacturing of high growth electronic items as well as on parts of phone chargers, transformers, wearables will provide the necessary boost required for the upgradation of the sector.Continuing from the previous year’s success, the startup ecosystem has indeed emerged as growth drivers for the country. The rationalization of surcharge being capped at 15% for individual companies and AOPs on long term capital gains along with the period of incorporation being extended till March 2023 for startup tax benefits will support the amplification of the startup ecosystem in India. Additionally, the establishment of an expert committee towards the scaling up of last year’s INR 5.5 lakh crore investments via Venture Capital and Private Equity for the startup ecosystem will prove to be an invaluable asset for the companies entering the space.
With continued focus on the caliber of affordable 5G network as part of the PLI Scheme in rural as well as urban areas alongside the allocation of 5% annual collection under USOs is sure to link together the growth in the telecom and consumer electronic sectors.”
Omer Basith, Co-founder and CEO, Virtual Forest Said ” The 2022 Budget has prioritised climate change in a big way. There are multiple policies from energy efficiency measures like energy audits and measurement/verification protocols to sovereign Green Bonds that will mobilise resources for green infrastructure projects. The government has also reiterated its commitment to EVs and recognised the importance of sunrise opportunities in industries like artificial intelligence, genomics, semiconductors and clean mobility systems. Hopefully, their commitment to support R&D for these industries will increase the amount of innovation in India, which will be crucial in the long run.”
UBON – Mr Mandeep Arora , Managing Director – Consumer Tech Industry
The Union Budget has tweaked duty on electronics and phone parts in the Union Budget 2022. Revision of customs duties on components or sub-parts of consumer electronics items is a seemingly encouraging step to promote local manufacturing and increase local sourcing of components. This may lead to reduction in cost prices of Mobile phones and chargers.”
He further added, “Another noteworthy point was on how using smartphones to carry on transactions will bring in more transparency in the system.”
VingaJoy – Mr Lalit Arora, Co- Founder – Consumer Tech Industry We welcome the UNION Budget 2022. Concessions in customs duty will be given to promote electronics manufacturing, wearables and hearables devices including concessions on parts of mobile phones including camera modules etc. This will be an encouraging step for companies operating in consumer durables manufacturing. Since mobile phones constitute a major chunk of the country’s electronics exports, the step by the Government is a positive move. The initiative to boost startups and make the market value and position of existing players more promising is well received.
Mr. Vipin Agarwal, Co – Founder, Candes – Consumer Durables While there was no change in the current tax structure, it was still heartening to note some relief offered for custom duty. Growing urbanization and the quest for better lifestyles and convenience are driving interest in smart home appliances while also increasing disposable income levels. The Union Budget 2022’s focus on Atma Nirbhar Bharat will definitely have a huge impact on the growth potential of the consumer durables category especially in emerging segments such as smart washing machines, dishwashers, and more.
Aditya Padman Co-Founder – ServeXplus / RektifyThe announcement of the battery Swapping policy was a step in the right direction towards emphasising greener mobility across the country. This policy, when introduced with interoperability standards, will cause EV makers to manufacture EVs with standardised batteries while reducing the TCO of EV ownership by negating the need to purchase a new battery which is currently the most expensive component of a EV vehicle. The budget this year was Short and Sweet with no populism and focus on Infrastructure, Investment and Digital. Looking forward to the Digital Rupee. I personally feel though that the 30% tax on sales of digital assets could have been lessened. Looking forward to the drone evolution. Interesting times ahead for India as with a With a $3.6 Trillion Market Capitalisation, India now World’s 5th Biggest Market ahead of UK, France, Canada, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Definitely this budget is a Atmanirbhar Bharat Ka Budget.
